Alouatta pigra occurs in a wide range of vegetation types, including evergreen and semi-evergreen broad-leaved forests, evergreen and semi-evergreen mixed needle-leaved and broad-leaved forests, deciduous and semi-deciduous broad-leaved forests, mangroves and swamps (Baumgarten and Williamson 2007). They can be found in anthropogenically-disturbed forests, including eucalyptus plantations (Bonilla-Sánchez et al. 2012), agricultural plantations (Estrada et al. 2006) or in remnant vegetation surrounded by pastureland and urban areas (Rodriguez Luna et al. 2006). As for all other howlers, black howlers spend most of their time resting (50–67.7%, Glander 2013), but their daily activities vary considerably according to season and food availability (Glander 2013).

The diets of Central American black howlers have been more recently studied as compared to those of mantled howlers. Most studies have been carried out in Mexico and Belize. An average A. pigra individuals spend 18.6% of their time feeding (range 7.2–32.6 %, Dias and Rangel Negrin 2105). They mainly consume fruits and leaves, but the relative proportions vary according to the conditions of the study site and possibly by season. Some studies report a high proportion of fruits while others report groups feeding almost exclusively on leaves and some having a more equal share of fruits and leaves in their diets (see Dias and Rangel Negrin 2105). Other food items include flowers, petioles, pulvini, etc. (Glander 2013, see also Dias and Rangel Negrin 2015 for a detailed review of howler diets).

Average group size varies 2 to 16 individuals, with an average of 6.2 individuals per group (Di Fiore et al. 2010, as and Negrin 2015). Groups may be uni-male multi-female or multi-male multi-female, with a sex ration of 1.1 females per male (Di Fiore et al. 2010). Group home ranges vary greatly between sites including estimates of 1–4 ha in forest fragments in the Community Baboon Sanctuary in north-central Belize (Marsh and Loiselle 2003), 10.4–15.8 ha at Bermudian Landing, Belize (Ostro et al. 1999), 14.06± 5.1 ha at Lamanai, Belize (Gavazzi et al. 2008), 6.25 ha at Palenque National Park, Mexico (Amato and Estrada 2010) and around 100 ha at Tikal, Guatemala (Caywood et al. 1979).

Adult males weight between 5.5 and 9.1 kg (average 7.60 kg, Kelaita et al. 2011) in Mexico, and 7.5–9.1 kg in Belize (Glander 2013); whereas adult female weight ranges from 4.6 to 7 kg (average 5.7 kg, Kelaita et al. 2011) in Mexico, and 4.6–7 kg in Belize (Glander 2013). Murie (1935) collected some specimens (including the type) for the species in Belize, and reported an average weight of 11.35 kg for males and 6.43 kg for females (Ford and Davis 1992). These are the most extreme sizes ever reported for the species, and do not correspond with more recent analyses of wild individuals. More sampling should be done to confirm size variation in different populations of the species. Behavioural and ecological field studies have been carried out mostly in Mexico, and Belize (see recent reviews on different aspects of their behaviour in Kowalewski et al. 2015a,b).

Alouatta pigra occurs across the Peninsula of Yucatan in the Mexican sates of Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo and eastern Tabasco, extending south to northern, central and southeastern Guatemala and Belize. The westernmost distribution of A. pigra in Mexico is in Tabasco, where it forms a narrow contact zone with A. palliata (Smith 1970, Horwich and Johnson 1986). Hybridisation has been confirmed in the area (Cortés-Ortiz et al. 2007), and mixed groups of A. palliata, A. pigra and hybrid individuals have been reported (Cortés-Ortiz et al. 2015b). A second contact zone has been proposed in southern Guatemala (Horwich and Johnson 1986, Curdts 1993, Silva-López et al. 1998), but a recent survey in the area (Baumgarten and Williamson 2007) did not find evidence of current sympatry. A. pigra occurs in the highlands of the Sierra de las Minas, but not in the lowlands, which are  occupied by A. palliata. Any past range overlap in this region will have been lost by the extensive loss of forest (Baumgarten and Williamson 2007).

Global Forest Watch data for regions of southeastern Mexico, Belize and eastern Guatemala in which the species currently suggest that, should forest loss continue at the same rate that has impacted the previous generation (2004-2018), 31% or more of this subspecies’ suitable habitat is likely to be lost by the year 2048 (Global Forest Watch 2020).

This species occurs, or may occur, in several protected areas:

Belize

• Guanacaste National Park (32,512 ha) (R. Horwich pers. comm. to Rodríguez-Luna et al. 1996)
• Blue Hole National Park (300 ha) (in range)
• Mountain Pine Ridge (51,500 ha) (Dahl, 1987)
• Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (40,000 ha) (Horwich et al. 1993; Horwich 1994; Koontz et al. 1994; Rodríguez-Luna et al. 1996)
• Community Baboon Sanctuary (Horwich and Lyon 1990; Horwich 1994; Pavón 1994; Brockett et al. 1999, 2000; Horwich et al. 2000, 2001)
• Upper Bladen (35,000 ha) (R. Horwich pers. comm. to Rodríguez-Luna et al. 1996)
• Caracol Archeological Reserve (20,000 ha) (in range)
• Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Private Reserve) (443 ha) (in range)
• Monkey Bay National Park (911 ha) (A. pigra reintroduced) (extinguished by yellow fever and hurricanes (1961 and 1978) (Clark and Brocket 1999)
• Manatee Forest Reserve (in range)
• Chiquibul National Park (107,607 ha) (Dahl 1987)
• Bladen Branch Nature Reserve (39,256 ha) (Dahl 1987)
• Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (61,513 ha) (Silva-López and Rumiz 1995)
  

Guatemala

• Rio Dulce National Park (9,610 ha) (Silva-López et al. 1995; Silva-López 1998)
• El Rosario National Park (1,105 ha) (in range)
• Bahia Santo Tomas (1,000 ha) (in range)
• Santa Rosalia (1,000 ha) (in range)
• Cerro Miramundo (902 ha) (in range)
• Las Victorias (82 ha) (in range)
• El Reformador (60 ha) (in range)
• Grutas Lanquin (in range)
• Cuevas de Silvino (8 ha) (in range)
• Laguna Lachua National Park (10,000 ha) (in range)
• Biotopo Mario Dary Rivera Quetzal (1,153 ha) (A. pigra according to Curdts (1993) and Silva-López 1998; but A. palliata according to Silva-López et al. 1995; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Biotopo de Chocon Machacas (7,000 ha) (Sympatric with A. palliata; Curdts 1993; Silva-López et al. 1995; Silva-López 1998; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Biotopo San Miguel La Palotada (49,300 ha) (Sympatric with A. palliata; Curdts 1993; Silva-López et al. 1995; Matamoros and Seal 2001; possible occurrence Silva-López 1998)
• Rio Escondido – Biotopo Laguna del Tigre (45,900 ha) (in range)
• Dos Lagunas (45,950 ha) (in range)
• Tikal National Park (57,600 ha) (Coelho et al. 1976; Schlichte 1978; Estrada et al. 2004)
• Aguateca Cultural Monument (1,700 ha) (Silva-López et al. 1995; Silva-López 1998)
• Ceibal Cultural Monument (1,700 ha) (in range)
• Dos Pilas Cultural Monument (3,100 ha) (Silva-López et al. 1995; Silva-López 1998)
• Rio Azul (28,900 ha) (in range)
• Uaxactún (3,000 ha) (in range)
• Ucanal (2,200 ha) (in range)
• Xutilha (2,689 ha) (in range)
• Ixcun Cultural Monument (400 ha)
• El Peru (8,000 ha)
• Biotopo San Miguel – El Zotz (42,000 ha) (in range)
• Nakum (8,000 ha) (in range)
• G48 Naranjo (1,200 ha)
• Machaquilla Cultural Monument (2,500 ha) (in range)
• Yaxha (9,000 ha) (in range)
• Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve (236,300 ha) (Sympatric with A. palliata; Curdts 1993; Silva-López et al. 1995; Silva-López 1998; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Polochic (Sympatric with A. palliata; Curdts 1993; Silva-López et al. 1995; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Sierra Lacandon National Park (200,000 ha) (in range)
• Mirador / Dos Lagunas –Rio Azul National Park (147,000 ha) (in range)
• El Tigre National Park (350,000 ha) (in range)
• Trifinito National Park (4,000 ha)

Mexico

• Palenque National Park (1,771 ha) (Estrada and Coates-Estrada 1984; Mexico, SEDUE, 1989; Estrada et al. 2000; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Tulum National Park 664 ha) (in range)
• Ria Lagartos Special Biosphere Reserve (47,840 ha) (in range)
• Pantanos de Centla (290,397 ha) (Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, SEDUE, 1989; Estrada et al. 2004; Serio-Silva et al. 2006)
• Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (Selva Lacandona) (331,200 ha) (Mexico SEDUE, 1989; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (528,147 ha) (Serio-Silva et al. 2006; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Chan-kin Protection Area for Wild Flora and Fauna (12,184 ha) (Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Yaxchilán Natural Monument (2,621 ha) (Estrada and Coates-Estrada 1984; Estrada et al. 2002, 2004; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Bonampak Natural Monument (4,357 ha) (Estrada and Coates-Estrada 1984; Matamoros and Seal 2001)
• Metzaboc (Hernández-Yãnez pers. comm., in Rodríguez-Luna et al. 1996a)

It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.